The Video - Lush's "Sweetness And Light"

A lovely Lushy blast from the past here from Miki and the gang.

The sumptuous slice of psych-tinged  Dream Pop that is  "Sweetness And Light".

Evocative, atmospheric, esoteric, terrific!

Cocteau Twins-tastic!

1990's "Sweetness And Light" was the band's third EP. It was produced by Talk Talk producer Tim Friese-Greene.

The band's first three EPs - plus two new tracks - were later combined in the Gala album which was produced for the US and Japanese markets.

The compilation was also released by 4AD in the UK.

  

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Art of the Cover - Lush's "Sweetness And Light" (1990)

Gorgeous artwork.

And some lovely luscious Lushy music here from Miki and the gang.

Evocative, atmospheric, esoteric, terrific!

1990's "Sweetness And Light" was the band's third EP. It was produced by Talk Talk producer Tim Friese-Greene.

The band's first three EPs - plus two new tracks - were later combined in the Gala album which was produced for the US and Japanese markets.

Tracklisting

1. "Sweetness and Light" Anderson 5:19
2. "Sunbathing" Anderson 3:09
3. "Breeze" Anderson, Berenyi 2:48


Details

Tracks 1, 2, and 3: released 15 October 1990

Produced by Tim Friese-Greene
Engineered by Ed Buller
Recorded at The Greenhouse, London, and mixed at Wessex Sound Studios, London, August 1990

  

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Art of the Cover - Lush's "Gala" (1990)

Gorgeous artwork.

And some lovely Lushy music here from Miki and the gang.

A Cocteau Twins-tastic collection!

Evocative, atmospheric, esoteric, terrific!

 

Gala was the debut album by Lush, which and released in the US on November 13, 1990. 

The album was released as an introduction to the US and Japanese markets.  

The collection comprised the band's first three EPs plus two new tracks.

The compilation was also released by 4AD in the UK.

Tracklisting

1. "Sweetness and Light" Anderson 5:19
2. "Sunbathing" Anderson 3:09
3. "Breeze" Anderson, Berenyi 2:48
4. "De-Luxe" Anderson 3:31
5. "Leaves Me Cold" Berenyi 2:56
6. "Downer" Anderson 2:41
7. "Thoughtforms" (Second Version) Anderson 2:45
8. "Baby Talk" Berenyi 2:18
9. "Thoughtforms" (Original Version) Anderson 2:45
10. "Scarlet" (Original Version) Anderson, Berenyi 3:27
11. "Bitter" Berenyi 2:02
12. "Second Sight" Berenyi 2:40
13. "Etheriel" Anderson, Berenyi 3:25
14. "Hey Hey Helen" Andersson, Ulvaeus 2:29
15. "Scarlet" (Longer Version) Anderson, Berenyi 3:55



Details

The EPs and tracks that make up the album are:

Sweetness and Light EP

Tracks 1, 2, and 3: released 15 October 1990
Produced by Tim Friese-Greene
Engineered by Ed Buller
Recorded at The Greenhouse, London, and mixed at Wessex Sound Studios, London, August 1990

Mad Love EP

Tracks 4, 5, 6, and 7: released 26 February 1990
Produced by Robin Guthrie
Engineered by Lincoln Fong and Robin Guthrie
Recorded at September Sound and The Church Studio, London, December 1989

Scar mini-album

Tracks 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13: released 9 October 1989
Produced by Lush and John Fryer
Engineered by John Fryer
Recorded at Blackwing Studios, London, July 1989"

Hey Hey Helen"

Track 14: previously unreleased
Produced by Robin Guthrie
Engineered by Guy Fixsen and Robin Guthrie
Recorded at First Protocol and September Sound, London, February 1990"

Scarlet" (Longer Version)

Track 15: previously released as part of Gigantic! 2, a CD available via Melody Maker newspaper, April 1990
Produced and engineered by Robin Guthrie
Recorded at September Sound, London, April 1990

  

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The Video - Talk Talk's "Such A Shame"

Such a shame to believe in escape.

From one of the most interesting and influential figures in the 80's music scene (and after), it's the artistically uncompromising Mark Hollis and Talk Talk with the 1984 single "Such A Shame", from their second album It's My Life.

A beautiful, existentialist ("in these trembling hands my faith") and evocative tale of a troubled loner ("Tell me to relax, I just stare. Maybe I don't know if I should change".) 

With lines like "the dice decide my fate, that's a shame", the song was inspired by one of Mark's favourite novels, Luke Rhinehart’s "The Dice Man" - the tale of a psychiatrist who begins to make life decisions based on the throw of a dice.

Sadly - like a lot of Talk Talk's and Hollis' stuff - the single was largely ignored in the UK, but became a big hit in continental Europe and also hit the Billboard Hot 100 stateside.

Perhaps worse - and certainly very bizarrely - "Such a Shame" was soon (in late 1984) mauled and mangled by muzak monger James Last!!

Interspersed with shots of telephone boxes, tenements, cars and trees, the typically idiosyncratic vid features a minimalist monochrome set with some behatted gurning guy, with mutating garb, mouthing the lyrics, with some shots of the band in the background banging out the music in a tongue-in-cheek, OTT style.

 
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Art of the Cover - Mark Hollis' "Mark Hollis" (1998)

Achingly gorgeous and hauntingly stark, Mark Hollis' self-titled debut picks up where he left off with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock seven years earlier, re-emerging at the nexus point where jazz, ambient, and folk music collide. It's quite possibly the most quiet and intimate record ever made, each song cut to the bone for maximum emotional impact and every note carrying enormous meaning.

 allmusic.com

Appropriately enough, some beautiful and minimalist artwork adorns this magnum opus from the former Talk Talk man. 

The artwork was designed by Cally and Crane.

The gorgeous cover shot - taken by Stephen Lovell-Davis - is a photograph of Sardinian Easter bread. 

Hollis spoke about the choice of image, saying ...

"I like the way something appears to come out of his head, it makes me think of a fountain of ideas. Also the manner how the eyes are positioned fascinates me. When I saw the picture for the first time I had to laugh, but there's some very tragic about it at the same time."

A lovely, limited edition, vinyl pressing of the album was issued last year (link on right.)

The magnificent album - a collection of beautiful, sparse, haunting, fragile and minimalist songs - sadly, remains Mark's only solo LP.

Tracklisting 

1. "The Colour of Spring"
2. "Watershed"
3. "Inside Looking Out"
4. "The Gift"
5. "A Life (1895-1915)"
6. "Westward Bound"
7. "The Daily Planet"
8. "A New Jerusalem"  

  

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